Winter Olympics 2014: Apart from hockey, a rough Saturday in Sochi for Team USA (gallery)

So ... what'd you miss Saturday at the Winter Olympics? If you're just checking in, you missed quite a hockey game between the Russians and the United States. In front of Russian President Vladimir Putin, T.J. Oshie scored four times in the shootout as got the game-winner as the U.S. won 3-2 in an instant Olympic classic.

"I think you're going to see T.J. Oshie become a household name after that display he put on," said David Backes, Oshie's teammate in St. Louis. "The kids will be out on the pond probably in Minnesota right now, throwing a 5-hole on the goalie three or four times in a row."

NBC's Al Michaels, the man who called the immortal "Do you believe in miracles?" game in 1980, told Steve Politi of The Star-Ledger: "What an incredible game. The intensity, the high level of play from both teams, and for it to come down to an ending like that? Unbelievable."

Elsewhere in Sochi, it was a rough day for the Americans.

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Speed skating: Maybe it wasn't the suits after all

After shedding their new, high-tech skinsuits for their old-fashioned gear, American speedskaters still were without a medal at the Sochi Olympics.

It was another rough day for two-time silver medalist Shani Davis and the rest of the American team, who hastily went through a suit change because of concerns their new high-tech attire was actually slowing them down. Hoping to end the shutout, the U.S. had gotten IOC approval just hours before the 1,500 to switch back to the suits it wore during a successful World Cup season in the fall, but it sure didn't help.

Brian Hansen of Glenview, Ill., was the top U.S. finisher in seventh.

The 31-year-old Davis, runner-up in the king of races at the last two Olympics, faded badly over the final lap. The Chicago native wound up 11th in what could be the final individual event of his brilliant Olympic career. The only race he has left in Sochi is team pursuit.

"I feel the damage of the suit was already done," Davis said, clearly blaming the turmoil for the team's dismal showing at these Olympics. "It took its toll. I spent energy in ways that I wouldn't have done normally."

Zbigniew Brodka won Poland's first gold medal in the men's 1,500 meter, finishing just 0.003 seconds ahead of Koen Verweij of the Netherlands. It was the closest 1,500 in Olympic history.

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Halfway into Olympics, US ski racers have 1 medal

Midway through the 10-event Alpine schedule, the Americans have won only one of the 15 medals awarded, Julia Mancuso's bronze in the super-combined. Some individual athletes from other countries already have twice as many.

Things look particularly bleak when compared to what happened at the 2010 Vancouver Games: The U.S. had seven medals through five races and finished with eight, helped by a gold and bronze from Lindsey Vonn, who is sidelined this time after knee surgery.

"We probably expected a little more, to be honest," U.S. Alpine director Patrick Riml said Saturday, when only two of four American competitors completed the super-G race.

Mancuso led the way with an eighth-place finish, then acknowledged, "There's definitely some disappointments."

Anna Fenninger became the third straight Austrian woman to win a gold medal in the Olympic super-G. Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany won the silver and Nicole Hosp of Austria the bronze.

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US hopes dashed in Olympic cross-country relay

With Norway losing for the first time since 2009, the women's 4x5-kilometer cross-country relay at the Sochi Olympics got an upset result. It just wasn't the surprise the American team was hoping for.

Chasing its first Olympic medal in the sport, the United States believed Saturday's relay could be the race to do it. But U.S. hopes faded quickly, though, as Kikkan Randall finished the opening classic-style leg of the race in 12th place, 39.7 seconds off the lead.

Sadie Bjornsen, Elizabeth Stephen and Jessica Diggins gained back some ground but the U.S. finally placed ninth, 2½ minutes behind champion Sweden, which landed the Olympic title for the first time in 46 years.

"It's tough to feel that (our hope) was already slipping away on the first leg," Randall said. "It's just a real bummer when it's the first leg and you got three teammates waiting for you really long to put us in a better position."

Charlotte Kalla erased a massive 25-second deficit on the final leg to give Sweden the gold in the relay. Finland finished second to win silver, and Germany took bronze. It's the first gold medal of the Sochi Olympics for Sweden.

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Early wipe-outs cost U.S. in short track

American gold medal favorite J.R. Celski crashed in the first round of the men's 1,000-meter short track speed skating race. Celski, who has spent much of his career in the shadow of Apolo Anton-Ohno, was one of the favorites to medal in this event. Celski clipped a lane marker in a turn and went down while racing second in the last of four quarterfinals.

Viktor Ahn of Russia won gold in the 1,000, with teammate Vladimir Grigorev taking the silver. It was Ahn's second medal of the Sochi Olympics. Zhou Yang of China won her second consecutive gold medal in the women's 1,500 meters -- a race that included a three-skater crash involving 500-meter gold medalist Li Jianrou of China.